CZECH REPUBLIC

Centuries of historical development here have left behind often striking examples
of all famous architectural styles. Romanesque and Gothic buildings, Renaissance
and Baroque palaces and Art Nouveau buildings captivate the beholder. Not without
reason was the historical area of Prague placed on the UNESCO list of world cultural
heritage. From Prague you will take experiences with you to last a lifetime.
Among the unforgettable impressions is especially the view from the bank of the
Vltava of the panorama of the Prague castle, long ago the seat of Czech kings,
dominated by the Gothic slenderness of St. Vitus cathedral.

You will live in first-class hotels with perfect service and will always find
sufficient opportunity for entertainment as well as a favorable setting for
your commercial activities. For the less demanding there are numerous other
accommodations including cozy pensions and campsites.
The rich cultural life of the city culminates every year in the international
musical festival of the Prague Spring, which takes place in excellent concert
halls and old Prague gardens. And it is possible that you will take pleasure
in the crooked alleys of old Prague and in the typical little pubs of the old
town.
The area surrounding Prague is also worth seeing, particularly the valley of
the Vltava river with its reservoirs as well as the nearby chateaux (for example
Karlstejn, Krivoklát, and Konopiste).

Those interested in history should not miss Kutna Hora, at one point the second
most important town in the Czech lands, with its remarkable Gothic buildings.
Another one of the historical jewels which was placed on the UNESCO list of
world cultural heritage is Cesky Krumlov, a unique historical town in the picturesque
landscape of southern Bohemia. Once the seat of a powerful Czech aristocratic
family, today it is one of the most important European historical areas, with
a Gothic-Renaissance chateau and a preserved collection of Gothic, Renaissance,
and Baroque buildings. The town is not only famous for its summer theatre with
rotating audience, but also for its Southern Bohemia Music Festival.

Situated in a landscape of forests and fish ponds is the third of the Czech
towns registered on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage:
A late Gothic fortress, gates and a number of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque
houses are preserved in the historical center of the town. In the Telc chateau
with its beautiful garden are valuable collections including a gallery of the
outstanding Czech painter Jan Zrzavy.

Among the most important tourist destinations in the Czech Republic, according
to Baedeker, the world famous tourist guide, are the Cesky Raj (Czech Paradise),
a landscape with rocky towns, pleasant forests, and numerous castles and chateaux;
Olomouc, a city with Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture;
and the Moravsky Kras, with its Macocha chasm and underground Punkva river.

Welcome to a place that can justifiably be referred to as a melting pot of European
civilizations. Although devoid of the benefits of proximity to the sea, the
Czech Republic, located in the heart of Central Europe, prides itself on magnificent
scenery and an immense cultural heritage, an asset that fully offsets this apparent
drawback. The concentration of so many tourist destinations in such a small
area is unique even in the European context. The country is enclosed by a belt
of extensive mountain ranges and the majority of its frontiers run along this
natural boundary. Although in terms of size (less than 79 thousand square kilometres)
and number of inhabitants (10.2 million), the Czech Republic ranks among the
medium-size to small European countries (it is somewhat smaller than Austria
and somewhat larger than Belgium and its population practically equals that
of Hungary), its territory is a diverse mosaic of regions. That is why it is
worth taking the effort to travel to individual regions in order to get to know
their distinctive features. Moreover, it will not take much time as you can
travel from one end of the Czech Republic to the other in a few hours.

Many foreigners have chosen this country as their temporary or even permanent
homes, which bears witness to the fact that the Czech Republic is a pleasant
country to live in. In the 1990s, Prague was even compared to the Paris of the
1930s. Not only the forces of nature have shaped and moulded the picturesque
Czech landscape;human beings have also set, like little beads, numerous historical
towns, thousands of small villages and the glistening expanses of fish ponds
into the countryside. To climb the summits of Czech mountains is a relatively
easy task -- the highest of them, the Snezka, reaches just to a height of 1,602
metres above sea level -- and you will be rewarded by breathtaking views as
you will be able to see a large part of the country as though from a bird's
eye view. The place with the lowest altitude can be found in Høensko,
on a site where the River Labe (Elbe) leaves the Czech Republic and enters Germany.

A host of rivers, including the Labe, the "national" River Vltava
(Moldau), which forms the axis of Bohemia, the Morava, the axis of Moravia,
and many others, are suitable for boat cruises and water tourism. The Czech
Republic takes good care of its visitors -- there is a wide range of accommodation
facilities, restaurants and a well-functioning transportation network. A wealth
of historical towns, castles and chateaux are prepared to open their gates wide
to visitors; alternately, those tired of the hustle and bustle of civilization
can relax amidst beautiful scenery.The Czech Republic has one more asset --
high-quality services to satisfy even the most sophisticated travellers. Available
at favourable prices, they enable foreign visitors to stay in our country as
well as make trips beyond its borders.